SB Nation - Sam Paulescu

The Day After Dallas: Injuries, Challenges, Punting, and Brad Jones

Brandon — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:15:17 -0000

Injuries, Injuries, injuires...from Mike McCarthy:

Cullen Jenkins had some ankle swelling. He'll probably miss some practice time this week. Desmond Bishop also had an ankle sprain. He'll probably miss some practice time. Greg Jennings had a knee contusion. He'll miss some practice time. And John Kuhn had a broken hand, and we'll see what he'll be able to do this week. With that, I'll take your questions.

The only injury he mentioned in his post-game press conference was LG Daryn Colledge's ankle bruise, but Colledge returned to the game at few plays later. The three guys who missed the Dallas game, RT Mark Tauscher, TE Jermichael Finley, and LB Aaron Kampman, are all expected back at practice this week. A lot of guys are banged up, and there's still 7 regular season games to go.

According to Rob Demovsky, the Packers should have been assessed a 15 yard penalty after McCarthy tried a 3rd challenge. I admit I hadn't noticed. The Cowboys got down to the 1 yard line anyway, and were stopped when QB Tony Romo threw a INT to CB Charles Woodson, so I'm not sure it would have mattered.

P Jeremy Kapinos is a great punter, in practice, says special teams coach Shawn Slocum. Slocum better be careful, praising P Derrick Frost's practice skills didn't help Mike Stock keep his job after last season. I haven't been a big critic of Kapinos because he's not as bad as Frost and I doubt they'd find anyone better at this point. Still, he's one of the worst punters in the NFL and the Packers will have to bring in some serious competition next season. For the remainder of this season, Greg Bedard suggested P Sam Paulescu, but he was bad last season in Dallas with a 41.8 yard average, compared to a 44.2 yard average for Kapinos. His net average is even worse, but the punt coverage deserves a lot of blame for it.

In his 1st NFL start, LB Brad Jones had 7 tackles and 1 for a loss. I'm a big fan of his, but I was disappointed he couldn't bring more of a pass rush against the Cowboys' backup RT. A good game, but those are LB A.J. Hawk type numbers. So I'm surprised that the comments are praising Jones, McCarthy has been asked whether Kampman remains the starter, and Tom Silverstein writes about Jones's emergence.

Horse Tracks 11/14/09 - Ryan Harris out; LK Smith starting in place of McBean, who is listed as questionable

Douglas A. Lee — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:21:32 -0000

Good Morning, MHR Friends! My brother-in-law Brock (who's a big Packers fan) asked me an interesting question the other day, about whether I thought Mike Shanahan could end up coaching Green Bay next year. At first, I gave him a quick "Are you nuts?!" but after thinking about it my curiosity was piqued; great young QB, decent defense, coach and GM under fire - O-Line and running game in need of fixing - perhaps a Shanny/Gibbs special. Last night, some talking head mentioned a possible reunion with Cutler in Chicago, with Lovie Smith now on the hot seat. Personally, I've had Shanny heading to Dallas next year in my mind all along; but now what if Wade and the Boys go deep into the playoffs? Would Shanny really work for Dan Snyder in Washington? What do you folks think?

NFL Films - Week 10: Broncos vs. Redskins Preview - Video

DB - Week 10 - Fri: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Becoming a Champion Corner - Chris Gentilviso
"There were no changes to the Broncos’ Week 10 Injury Report on Friday. On the Redskins’ side, after not participating in either Wednesday or Thursday’s practice, RB Ladell Betts (ankle) was a limited participant on Friday. He is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at FedEx Field. A non-participant in Thursday’s session, P Hunter Smith (right groin) was a limited participant on Friday. He is also listed as questionable."

DPP - Paxton's streak to hit 100 games - Mike Klis
"Josh Barrett, a safety in the Broncos' "big nickel" package and a key special teams player, is listed as doubtful for the game Sunday because of a strained hamstring. Right tackle Ryan Harris will miss his second straight game with dislocated right toe. DE Ryan McBean is questionable (knee)."

DP - Harris out; McBean questionable for Sunday - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Champ reflects on deal that seems long ago - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Q&A: Is punter Mitch Berger the next player on the Broncos' hot seat? - Jeff Legwold

ESPN - Down the stretch with Denver, San Diego - Bill Williamson

DPP - Analysis: Redskins linebacker Fletcher leads team in tackles - for a good reason - Jeff Legwold

DB - Traveling Toward Success - Gray Caldwell
A profile of Le Kevin Smith, who will be starting his second NFL game (his first was Monday) tomorrow in Washington.

LTC - Broncos’ Jordan being patient - Brian Howell

CSG - Broncos working on defensive rebound - Frank Schwab

Y! - NFL: Broncos Troubles - Video
Jason Cole calls Jay Cutler "great," while Charles Robinson compares McD to Mangini. Mike Silver reminds everyone that Denver's defense is formidable.

Redskins News

WP - Redskins Gameday: Week 10, Redskins vs. Broncos - Doug Farrar & Paul Tenorio
A breakdown of Sunday's matchups, plus a neat animation of the Broncos' Wild Horses formation.

WP - Betts limited by foot injury but expects to play - Jason Reid

WP - Portis still feeling effects of concussion - Jason Reid

WP - Punter Smith might return Sunday against Broncos - Rick Maese
If not Smith, then Sam Paulescu (who was beaten out by Brett Kern in '08 for the Denver job) would punt for Washington.

AFC West News

ESPN - Final Word: AFC West - Bill Williamson

SDUT - Revolving door on Chargers defense - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Hardwick's return put on hold - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Merriman, Phillips may not play Sunday - Chris Jenkins

KCS - Smith could start at running back against Raiders - Kent Babb

USAT - Bell Tolls: Seymour embracing life at opposite end of the NFL - Jarrett Bell

SFC - Raiders receivers play catch-up during bye week - David White

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Mum is Cable's word - David White

OT - Chaz Schilens' return to Raiders might help bad passing game - Steve Corkran

NFL News

NFL - Friday Injury Reports

NFL - NFL not laughing about Ochocinco's dollar-bill joke, fines him $20K

NFL - League fines Bears' Cutler, Harris fined for conduct vs. Cardinals

NFL - Bengals S Roy Williams placed on IR

NFL - Mangini responds to Lewis, says Browns not being overworked

NFL Opinion

FH - Between the Lines: Who's Allowing the Most Sacks? - J.J. Cooper

NYT - A New Cast Doesn’t Slow Peyton Manning - Judy Battista

FOX - Midseason Boom or Bust: Time to trust the Cowboys - Adam Schein

SN - Week 10: 10 bold predictions on playoff picture - RealScouts
RealScouts thinks the Dolts will win the division and the Broncos will miss the playoffs...

FOX - Where have all the bad-boy wideouts gone? - Kevin Hench

NFP - McCarthy has bigger problems than a maintenance worker - Robert Boland

NFP - Ahman never should have left - Andrew Brandt

NFL - Breaking down the free-agent class of an unpredictable offseason - Jason La Canfora

NFL - Scouts give a closer look as the season winds down - Bucky Brooks

PFW - Juniors rule the WR roost again - Nolan Nawrocki

Week 10 Picks and Previews

ESPN - Sunday Countdown online: Your weekly NFL guide - Week 10

NFL - While Brady and Manning duke it out, keep an eye on Young - Pat Kirwan

SI - NFL Week 10 Viewer's Guide, including Bengals-Steelers - Ross Tucker

SI - Cincinnati Bengals defense leads way; Patriots-Colts not big game - Peter King

SI - Patriots-Colts is NFL Game Of The Week - John P. Lopez

SN - Quarterback battles highlight Week 10 action - Clifton Brown

CBS - Peek at the Week: Patriots prepared to exploit Colts' weakness - Clark Judge

NYT - Week 10 N.F.L. Matchups - Mike Tanier
"Tips if you are going to FedEx Field: 1) Do not look DeAngelo Hall in the eyes. He will think you are challenging him. 2) Do not carry a sign to the stadium denigrating the Sherman Lewis-Sherman Smith by referencing Mister Peabody, Sherman T. Potter or General Tecumseh Sherman. Also, no swimming in Sherman’s Lagoon."

ESPN - Bill Simmons Week 10 NFL picks

ESPN - NFC playoffs likely headed indoors - Adam Schefter
"Upset of the week: Redskins over Broncos -- Denver, coming off a physical Monday night loss, now travels back East to play a Redskins team that showed signs of life against the Falcons in Week 9."

Special JC Section
I don't go out of my way to post Cutler articles; after Thursday, he's one of the biggest stories around...

FH - Mel Kiper: 'I Was Right' on Jay Cutler, and Mike Mayock Was Wrong - Michael David Smith

DP - Ode to McJaygate - Mike Klis

DP - Re-ranking 2006 QB class - Mike Klis

NFP - What is the story with Cutler? - Matt Bowen

NFP - Diner morning news: It’s not all Cutler’s fault - Mike Lombardi
"Don’t be too fast throwing Bears QB Jay Cutler into the Jeff George category. Trust me, he’s not Jeff George. He was careless with the football twice Thursday night, but he’s not Jeff George."

FH - Cutler Haters, Apologists: Meet Halfway - Matt Snyder

Poll

Where do you think Mike Shanahan will be coaching in 2010?

Chicago

96 votes

Dallas

115 votes

Green Bay

30 votes

Washington

59 votes

None of the above

62 votes

362 votes | Poll has closed

Dallas Cowboys news: Tony Romo set to start

Brandon Worley — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:51:08 -0000

The big story from yesterday was Tony Romo returning to practice with a new splint and a positive outlook:

"This is a football team, and no one player wins or loses football games," Romo said. "I think this football team’s best football is ahead of it, and we’ll be able to show that."

The best part of this is that Romo's new splint and healing finger will allow him to grip the ball much better than he was when trying to play against the Rams. The players also realize that just because Romo is returning doesn't mean that all of a sudden everything is fixed.

"I don't think it's a matter of him coming in and trying to be Superman and really saving this team," Owens said. "Tony's job is obviously very important at the quarterback position. I think he's had time to kind of assess games he hasn't played in. For him, it's just to come out and put the ball in playmakers' hands and let those guys make the plays."

There is no doubt that Romo coming back to the team will instantly infuse them with some much needed energy. We should realize though, that things weren't great before Romo went down and those issues are still there, especially when it comes to the offensive line. However, there is certainly an excitement about the team again and you would hope that would spill over to the players because it's obvious there was something missing. We all agree that Romo looked a bit skittish and not himself (although a skittish Romo is 100 times more effective than BJ or Bollinger) and hopefully the time off has allowed him to find that spark that made him enjoy the game when he first took over.

Brooks Bollinger is the official number two quarterback. Either Patrick Crayton or Sam Paulescu will become the holder for field goals.

Greg Ellis is disappointed in being benched on first and second downs in favor of Anthony Spencer.

"[I'm] disappointed as a competitor. Yeah, I want to be out there playing and doing what I do," Ellis said regarding a reduced role. "As far as this football team, that's what they feel [is] the direction they need to go in. That's the decision they made. That's it."

Nick Eatman says the players need to get away for awhile and the long weekend will be good for them.

According to Brad Sham, its all on the players to turn this thing around. That's my feeling exactly because its reached a point where this team will have to win almost in spite of the coaching.

And here is yet another case of the media taking advantage of the T.O. effect. I log onto to SI.com, and the first news story listed says this: T.O. rips Cowboys backup QBs

Now, T.O. did have some stuff to say about the play of the backups but none of it was out of line. Everything he said was right on, and I would be frustrated as hell if I was in him. He's getting open, he's starting to beat the press and the quarterback can't even throw an accurate slant. On Sirius radio yesterday, he also acknowledged that he is no longer the number one weapon on this team, but at the same time none of them are being utilized properly. So, he's just speaking the truth.

The negativity of the title of the article and how it's been done over and over again is just getting old.